Does managing your email overwhelm you? Do you feel it takes up too much of your time?
Believe me, I understand how emails seem to mount up. It’s a never ending task.
You have the choice and could feel overwhelmed with all the emails that come in. You have the choice of feeling like they are a constant bother. Or, you can implement a few time-saving habits and change your perspective.
Imagine your email processes streamlined. Eventually, you’ll find yourself even delegating some of your email duties.
There are several habits I have to streamline my email management. Today, we’ll talk about just one.
Control e-mail chaos using templates
A HUGE time-saving habit I use on an ongoing basis is the use of templates.
I learned, years ago at my first job at a doctor’s office, that template documents make life much easier. The reasons:
- The template was approved by my boss
- It sets the tone and professionalism of the message
- The template gave the basic framework of the message, then it could be easily personalized
- It’s faster to modify an existing message than composing a brand new one
Back then, the templates I used were for snail-mail letters, but the same basic concept translates into your email messages.
When you think about it, you end up writing some of the same messages over and over again. Perhaps it’s a question about pricing. Maybe you are frequently answering a question you’ve answered somewhere on your website. You should develop a template message that will direct your customer to the correct information so their questions are addressed.
If you are reluctant to use templates because they don’t seem personal…GET OVER IT!
Believe me…this practice saves you time, serves your customers better, and increases your professionalism.
All you have to do is to compose your templates to be personal and thoughtful. You have the capability to make modifications to further personalize, yet you don’t have to type up the same basic message over and over.
Sometimes you may be too busy to type up the response you’d like. What happens is you either haphazardly type your message, or you delay sending it. Worse yet, you may forget to send a response.
Taking the time once to compose your template saves you time in the future. Your template will help you to quickly and easily respond to your customer.
This process may not be appropriate for every single email response you have. Remember, if you find yourself answering the same question more than once, it’s a clue to set up a template.
You may dream of the day that you’ll hire someone to help you review and monitor your emails. By implementing templates now, you’ll better position yourself to easily delegate the task when you are ready.
Many of my clients use Gmail. So, I thought I’d put together a quick tutorial to show you how you can set up templates using your Gmail account.
Don’t shy away from this tutorial because you don’t consider yourself “techy.” You’ll be surprised how easy the process is to set up.
Now you are prepared to start using templates in your business. Get into the habit of using templates when your business is small. As your business grows, you are in the perfect position to delegate the repetitive task and create systems for your team to follow.
Gmail is just one email tool. Whether you use Gmail or not, most email systems have a method of creating templates. Use them! You’ll be glad you did. Saving those few seconds here and there, makes a HUGE difference in your workflow.